


The First Storm

by buriedandreset



Series: Loba/Bangalore [3]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Bickering, F/F, Romance, some PTSD instances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25483015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buriedandreset/pseuds/buriedandreset
Summary: Loba wants to take Anita as her plus-one to a fancy party, but Anita doesn't want to go. It culminates in a fight that could potentially derail their newly established relationship. However, Anita cooks up a surprise that she hopes will go over well.
Relationships: Loba Andrade/Bangalore | Anita Williams
Series: Loba/Bangalore [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021294
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53





	The First Storm

**Author's Note:**

> I really had intended to finish the next chapter of Interception, but I got the idea for this story and just had to write it! You could say I've had this pairing on my mind quite a bit.
> 
> Also, I apologize for Loba sniping at Pathfinder. I only meant to prod her robot-related PTSD issues. I also needed a third wheel to get caught in the arguing that was happening, and I chose Pathfinder. I personally love Path, so please don't hate me for the story giving him a little bit of a hard time. It's just how the story was crafted.

“I already told you I ain’t going to some fancy party just to watch you steal something you shouldn’t.” Antia practically spat. She had zero interest in watching Loba commit a crime.

“Who said I was going to steal anything?” Loba responded. “Besides, it’s not _that_ kind of party. I do things other than just steal, you know. I like to socialize, and I thought this would be a great thing to do as a couple.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t do fancy dress. So forget it.” Anita replied, crossing her arms.

Loba narrowed her eyes. Inwardly, she was highly disappointed and a little hurt, but she wasn’t about to show that, even to her own girlfriend. “Fine, then I’ll go alone.”

“Wait, you’re still going? Why?” Anita asked, a bit surprised and also a bit hurt that Loba would go without her.

“Because I want to, is that so hard to understand?” Loba bristled. Sure she’d had an inkling that Anita wasn’t the fancy dress type, but she thought she _might’ve_ wanted the chance to see Loba wear a really nice dress, and maybe dance. Or at least let her be arm candy. But apparently she’d thought wrong. And now her mood was soured. How was it that Anita always found a way to turn her mood upside down?

“I don’t know how you handle those stuffy shindigs anyways. People like that are not fun to talk to.” Anita commented.

“The conversation is certainly lacking, but I don’t go there for the conversation. I go for the food and alcohol and people-watching.” And picking out potential targets for future heists, but she wasn’t about to say that.

“No you don’t. You go there to decide what to steal next.” Anita stated a bit condescendingly. Loba rolled her eyes.

“Oh please, save the speech. I am what I am, so either you accept that or you don’t.” Loba stood up and started heading for the door. “For now, I should get going. Need to rest up for the Games tomorrow.”

Anita was about to stop Loba, not exactly wanting her to leave, but she didn’t want to poke that bear. “Get your beauty sleep, princess,” she commented as Loba headed for the door. The comment gave Loba pause for a moment before she opened the door and left.

A little frown settled on Anita’s face. Loba hadn’t even bothered to give a retort to that last comment. Oh well, she figured Loba would brush it off. She was still surprised that Loba was still going to go to that party. Anita had been going to suggest they go out for dinner instead of to that party, but after seeing Loba’s reaction, she scrapped that idea. It was times like this that she wondered why she was even trying to date Loba. The woman was impossible to deal with. She rubbed her forehead and sighed heavily before deciding she should get some rest herself for the following day.

It was another day in the Arena. The teams were selected and Loba only _barely_ contained an eye roll. She got paired with Bangalore and Pathfinder. Of _course_ she’d be put on the same squad as her girlfriend that she was currently mad at and the other robot.

“Hi friends!” Pathfinder greeted both of his teammates with a smiley face displayed on the screen on his chest as he gave them a wave.

“I’m not your friend, robot,” Loba responded, giving him the cold shoulder.

“Hey, leave him alone,” Bangalore said, shooting Loba a pointed look. Loba turned her steely gaze onto Bangalore.

“All I said was that I’m not his friend because I’m not. But fine. I simply won’t speak to him for the rest of the match.” Loba responded before returning her attention to the drop ship.

“Jeez, you don’t have to be so bitchy about it.” Bangalore commented with a roll of her eyes.

Loba bristled, but she bit her tongue. Bangalore didn’t understand why she hated robots, and now wasn’t the time to discuss _that_ particular aspect of her past.

“I think both of you could use a high five!” Pathfinder said, raising his hand.

“Not now, Pathfinder,” Bangalore stated. He put his hand down as the smiley face turned into a sad face.

And with that, they jumped from the dropship and landed in the Arena. They seemed to have landed alone.

“Standard stock here, level two,” Loba called.

“Dibs!” Came Bangalore’s reply. After a few moments, she picked it up. “Thank you.”

“You know how to use it, I assume. You are the expert, or so I hear.” Loba commented in response as she loaded up her own guns. Bangalore shot her a look, but didn’t say anything.

After looting up, they made their way around the map, taking down the teams they came into contact with. They were dominating the Arena today, and they even came out with a win in the end.

“Good job, friends! High five?” Pathfinder asked again after the match concluded, again raising his hand to receive one.

“Sorry, I don’t do high fives,” Loba responded.

“I know you mean well, but I don’t think any of us are the high five types.” Bangalore said with a little smile. “But hey, who knows, maybe you can get Mirage to give you one. He actually does seem to be the type to give high fives.”

After the post-match interviews and other such stuff was taken care of, Loba was on her way out when someone caught her arm. She turned around to see it was Anita.

“What’s your deal, huh? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Or did someone put a pea under your mattress and you couldn’t sleep, princess?” Anita quipped. It was unclear whether she meant it in jest or if she was simply turning the screw. Perhaps it was a bit of both. Either way, it served to further ruffle Loba’s feathers.

“I’m sorry that I’m not a sparkling ray of sunshine twenty-four-seven like _some_ people around here. But I don’t have to make nice with everyone, you know.” Loba countered.

“All I’m saying is that you could be a little nicer to Pathfinder. He’s not so bad, you know. Irritating with his passive-aggressive comments sometimes, but he’s pretty stand up. I can take your punches, but he needs a little more care.”

Loba’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t understand. He’s not the demonio, but he’s still a robot. Not everyone likes robots. In fact, the world would be a better place without them, but that’s not going to happen.”

“So you’re prejudiced against robots? That’s not exactly a good look on you.” Anita stated.

Loba clenched a fist and her eyes got instantly harder. Flashes of that horrific day when she was nine years old flashed through her mind. The _demonio_ flashed through her mind and she flinched before she closed her eyes and took a breath, determined to not lose it here in front of Anita.

“You have no idea what I have been through. It’s not prejudice. It’s _experience_.” She stated through clenched teeth. She then turned around and intended to make a quick exit. She needed to get elsewhere and away from prying eyes. However, Anita grabbed her arm and Loba wrenched it out of her grasp. “Don’t touch me!” She hissed. “I need to get out of here. Just let me go.”

“Whoa okay, sorry. Didn’t know there were boundaries. I just don’t want you running off mad like this.” Anita said.

“There’s a lot you don’t know. I just really need to be alone now.” Loba said as she kept heading for the exit.

“Maybe if you just talk to me instead of shutting me out I’d understand.” Anita implored, following after Loba.

“Not here. And not now. Please. I need to be alone.” Loba was trying _really_ hard to be polite about it, but she really did just need to get out of there. Finally, she just ran before Anita could try to delay her any further. They didn’t need to make a bigger public display than they already had.

Anita stopped walking and watched Loba run off. She let out a heavy, frustrated sigh and ran a hand over her face. This was like pulling teeth, and she didn’t understand what was going on with Loba. She wanted to help her, to make her feel better, but she couldn’t do that when she didn’t know what was wrong.

And Anita knew that she was one of the problems. She just didn’t quite know what to do to try and make it up to Loba. Maybe she should go to that fancy party as a surprise. She was going to need a tuxedo for that because she sure as well wasn’t going to wear some uptight dress for that.

“So, that sounded like a relationship squabble. If you ask me, you should just kiss and make up. Makes everything better,” Elliot chirped as he came up beside Anita with a sly grin on his face.

“Oh shut up, pretty boy,” Anita responded. Though she glanced at him and a thought occurred to her, and she had a feeling she might live to regret this decision, but she needed help. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I need your help.”

“I’m sorry, what? I don’t think I heard that. What did you say?” Elliot asked, tilting his head and leaning in closer to Anita.

“I need your help.” Anita responded with a roll of her eyes.

“You need my help? Oh, now this is something! What do you need help with?” Elliot’s interest was piqued, to say the least.

“I need a tuxedo. A really nice one. Preferably for rent or at a reasonable price.”

Elliot’s eyebrows nearly hit the sky itself with how high they lifted. “Wait, a tuxedo? That’s some pretty hardcore stuff right there! Who’s getting married? Wait, are _you_ getting married and you didn’t tell any of us?”

“No one’s getting married. I need it for some high society type of bullshit. I need to look good.” Anita said.

“Does this have something to do with Loba? Because it sounds like you’re trying to impersonate...impers….impress a girl with a nice tux.” Elliot smirked a bit, his eyes gleaming. “But no no, say no more! I can definitely help you with that. I know a guy. Well, less a guy and more of a place, but you know what I mean.”

“Just take me there,” Anita said in a long-suffering sigh.

“Your wish is my command!” Elliot said with a grin. He then proceeded to take Anita to the place he had in mind.

It was an ordeal that Anita really didn’t want to go through again. After her measurements had been taken, she’d tried on several tuxedos before she found one that both fit well and that she liked the look of. She hoped that it would be enough to knock Loba off her feet.

Elliot grinned and hooked an arm around Anita’s shoulders. “You, my friend, make a tux look _good_. So, who’re you trying to impress? No no, let me guess. Does their name begin with an L and end with a mrrrrooww?” He asked, rolling the r on the ‘mrow’ and drawing the word out for dramatic effect.

Anita let out a little huff in response. “I’m not trying to impress anyone.”

“Oh really? Then what’s the tux for? I think you’re trying to knock someone’s socks off. Or get into someone’s pants. Maybe both!”

“Stop it. You ain’t getting anything from me.” Anita attempted to shut down Elliot’s line of questioning. But it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Ooohhh I think I’m definitely barking up the right tree! You wanna hook up with Loba? I can see the attraction. She’s a hot, strong woman with a very nice figure. And the corset does amazing things for her amazing assets.” Elliot layered it on. Loba was the kind of woman that he would _always_ flirt with despite knowing she was actually out of his league. But as far as he was concerned, Loba could step on him anytime.

“Would you stop that? I only needed your help with finding the tuxedo, now you can go back to doing whatever it is you do in your off-time. Oh wait, is that a grey hair I see?” Anita asked, pointing at his hair.

“Wait, what? Grey hair? No, it can’t be! Oh no, I should get going. I need to make sure you’re just pulling my arm. I mean leg. Okay, bye.” He responded and rushed off. Anita just chuckled and shook her head a little, but it got her out of the line of fire, at least. Now she just needed to wait for the day of the party.

Or maybe she should make an attempt to brush up on her dancing skills. Because if she was going to wear a tuxedo and attend this party, she was damn well going to get Loba to dance with her. And, well, she hoped that she could still get away with being Loba’s plus-one. And if she couldn’t? If she made enough of a fuss, perhaps she could get Loba’s attention to come help her. Or hinder, as the case may be.

At any rate, she had things to do to prepare herself. Anita kept telling herself that she was doing this for Loba and hoping that it would make up for initially saying no and being a bit of an ass about it. She had half a mind to give Loba a call and see if she was alright, but she wasn’t so certain the woman would actually answer right now. For the time being, she’d let her be. Anita didn’t want to push things too hard, especially right now. So it was brushing up on her dancing skills and working on her charm and romance factor to catch Loba’s attention at the party.

The week passed uneventfully, thankfully. Anita had called Loba a couple times just to make sure she was okay. Things were still a little tense between them, but Anita wasn’t going to ruin her surprise by telling Loba she’d actually be at the party. So whenever Loba asked what she was upto, Anita just stuck to the typical gun range and working out routines. Which she’d done some of, of course, but she’d also been doing other things to prepare for the party.

Finally the day of the party came, and Anita dressed in her tuxedo. She’d actually bought it instead of having rented it. Considering she was dating _Loba Andrade_ she figured having a tuxedo in her wardrobe would be a good thing to have should Loba want to drag her out to these fancy parties in the future.

Assuming they had a future.

But Anita was hoping that all would be forgiven once she got to the party and started working her charms on Loba.

Now, Anita’s arrival at the party needed to be just right. Knowing Loba, she’d be there on time, or even a little early. Anita was aiming to arrive slightly late, just so she’d know that Loba was inside and could hopefully pull off the plus-one. Taking a breath, Anita strode up to the entrance confidently, even though internally she was incredibly nervous. She hoped that this would work the way she’d been hoping it would.

“Name?” The guy at the door asked.

“Anita Williams, I’m Loba Andrade’s plus-one. I was running a little behind, sorry.” Anita stated. The man checked his list.

“Ah yes, go right in.” He made a mark as Anita headed inside, smiling a bit. At least _that_ part had gone smoothly. As she came to the top of a grand stairway that gave way to a large ballroom, Anita was suddenly hit with realizing just _how_ out of her depth she was. She was a tomboy and a soldier, she wasn’t a girly-girl that ran with high society types.

Elliot had definitely been right, Anita was _definitely_ trying to impress someone.

Standing at the top of the staircase, Anita scanned over the crowd spread out below. It didn’t take that long before her gaze fell on Loba, and the sight she saw took her breath away. Loba was wearing a very classy black dress, a slit on one side that stretched all the way up to her hip. Anita couldn’t tell if the dress had a corset or not, but it most certainly accentuated her figure perfectly. The bracelets and ring on her left hand glistened in the light, and she was wearing a rather fancy necklace encrusted with what she could only assume were diamonds. Anita found herself staring at the woman and nearly forgot she should probably head down to her.

Loba was chatting with a couple acquaintances of hers, glass of champagne in one hand when she got the distinct feeling she was being watched. She was only half-listening to what was being said as she started scanning the crowd. Her skin wasn’t crawling so she knew it wasn’t the demonio that was there. Finally, her gaze lifted to the top of the grand staircase and her breath caught in her throat and she nearly dropped her champagne as she locked eyes with Anita. Her jaw may have also dropped a bit, both literally and metaphorically.

“Excuse me, I see someone that I must talk to right away. I’ll see you later,” Loba interjected before starting to move towards the staircase.

As their gazes locked on each other, Anita couldn’t help a little smile and felt a flutter in her heart. She’d at least gotten Loba’s attention, and she hadn’t needed to make a scene in order to do it. She started to descend the staircase, though her gaze never left Loba.

“You came,” Loba stated once they met at the foot of the staircase.

“I did. I felt bad for disappointing you, so I thought I’d surprise you. Seems it worked,” Anita added with a confident smile.

“It most certainly did,” Loba responded, giving Anita a rather elongated once over. “You look extremely dashing in that tuxedo. It suits you,” Loba complimented with a smile.

“Thank you.” Anita also gave Loba an elongated once over. “You look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you, beautiful,” Loba returned gazing into Anita’s eyes. There always seemed to be a fine line between liking someone and falling in love with them. Loba had toed the line enough to realize when things started to turn to love. And this was the moment that she could pinpoint that she was definitely beginning to fall in love with Anita.

Grinning, Anita offered her arm to Loba. “So, when does the dancing start?” She asked.

Loba chuckled softly as she hooked her arm through Anita’s. Arm candy indeed. But who exactly was the arm candy because they both could be considered such. In fact, Loba could swear she already heard some whispering about them.

“The dancing starts after dinner. Which should begin in about forty-five minutes.” Suddenly she looked at Anita, arching an exquisitely manicured eyebrow. “Wait, does that mean you want to dance with me?”

“Who else do you think I’m gonna dance with? The waiter?” Anita quipped, which earned a hearty laugh from Loba, a laugh that made Anita grin.

“Well, I’m sure there are some who would pay to see that, but I would most certainly rather be your dance partner. Less chance of me killing someone for putting their hands on you.” Loba purred. Now it was Anita’s turn to look at Loba with an arched brow.

“You’d seriously kill someone over that?” She asked.

“That entirely depends on how they touch you. After all, you are not the only possessive one in this relationship.” Loba stated, a little gleam in her eyes. Anita wasn’t sure if it was the lighting or what, but she swore that Loba had a glow to her. The kind of glow that people got when they were truly happy.

“Good to know.” Anita responded.

Despite it being social hour, Loba and Anita mostly socialized with each other. Loba actually loved getting tongues wagging about them, after all. She introduced Anita to some of her acquaintances, and she introduced her as her girlfriend. Society would be buzzing about this, and no doubt some of the fans of the Apex Games would have something to say about it, too. While they hadn’t exactly told the other Legends they were dating, Loba didn’t want to hide it now. She didn’t exactly care if the other Legends found out about this through the headlines or something.

Okay, so she cared if Revenant knew, but right now that was the furthest thing from her mind.

Dinner came and went, and Anita had been rather surprised that she enjoyed the food. She’d expected the hoity-toity kind of food, but what they’d been served had been ritzy, but the steak had been _excellent_. And then after dinner came the part of the night that Anita had been looking forward to the most. Or, well, if things went well she hoped there would be an afterparty with just the two of them, but short of that, she’d wanted to dance with Loba. As the music began and people began to take to the dancefloor, Anita turned to Loba and held out her hand.

“May I have this dance?” She asked charmingly, accompanied by an equally charming smile.

“Yes, you may,” Loba responded with a warm smile as she took Anita’s hand. Anita led them to the dancefloor before she pulled Loba to her, keeping hold of her hand while her other hand went to the small of Loba’s back. Loba set her free hand on Anita’s shoulder and they started dancing.

It was so easy to forget that they were in public. Loba also found it was so easy to lose herself in Anita’s eyes. Being in heels, she was the same height as Anita was and she rather enjoyed being eye to eye with her.

“I’m sorry for being an ass last week. This kind of party isn’t exactly my thing. Getting dressed up is not something I like doing and I let that cloud my response to you asking me here.” Anita apologized.

“I forgive you. Though I do confess, if it makes you get a tuxedo and surprise me, it only makes me want it to happen again.” Loba responded with a chuckle. “But I am also sorry. I was a bit too harsh in my reaction to you not wanting to come. I should’ve been more understanding.”

“I forgive you. We’re both too stubborn for our own good sometimes.” Anita said.

“Perhaps, but it also gives us our fire. And I rather enjoy that fire.” Loba also admired Anita’s strength, physically and otherwise. After all, Loba always knew that if she ever seriously dated someone, they couldn’t be a pushover. Loba needed someone to push back and someone who could take it when she lashed out.

“Let’s just try not to get too burned. I like you not being charred.” Anita pulled Loba closer to her so their bodies were pressed together.

“Why thank you, I like both of us not being charred,” Loba responded. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest. Somewhere, there was a part of her that was screaming at this, at the fact she’d crossed that line to falling in love, but she wasn’t conscious of it. Instead, she leaned in and kissed Anita, not giving a damn what other people might think. Loba never cared what people thought of her, and she wasn’t afraid to show that she liked a woman.

That confidence Loba had was definitely a turn on to Anita. Loba wasn’t the only one who knew that she needed a significant other that was strong. Anita herself could be quite the handful. She returned the kiss, also not giving a damn who gawked at them.

All in all, it had been quite the evening. And there had definitely been a private afterparty. Anita and Loba had gone back to Anita’s place where they finished making up with each other. Though the sex was less sex and more akin to making love rather passionately. Finally, they were spent and laid there in a tangle of sweaty limbs and intertwined bodies. Loba’s head rested on Anita’s chest and she closed her eyes.

“I’m glad you came to the party,” Loba said softly after some silence.

“Me too. Gotta say, I had the hottest date there.” Anita grinned lazily.

“I beg to differ. _I_ had the hottest date.” Loba corrected playfully. Anita chuckled huskily.

“You know we could argue about that, but I’ll just agree to disagree.” Anita didn’t have the stamina to even playfully argue the point. She pulled Loba closer against her, her eyes closing.

Right there in that moment, everything was perfect. Anita and Loba had made amends, Anita’s plan had gone off perfectly, and now they both would drift to sleep while being entangled with each other. It was a very good ending to an otherwise tense week. Sometimes making up was definitely the best part. And neither of them would trade anything for this moment. It was a moment of quiet, peaceful bliss that came so very rarely to them both.

And yet they both also knew that their relationship wouldn’t be smooth sailing. No relationship ever was, but given how often they butted heads with each other, fights would no doubt be a bit common place for them. So long as they didn’t let the fights tear them apart, things would be fine.

It was the ebb and flow of their relationship that had already seen a lot of stormy seas. And there would certainly be more to come. But so long as there were periods of calm between, they could weather the storms.

And they had survived the first storm.


End file.
